Baltimore’s Beach House are perhaps the most unlikely indie success story of the past few years. They play the game by their own rules, turning down high profile tour slots and TV advertisements, and often book small gigs not closely commensurate with their popularity.

The band — who prefer to not be referred to a duo, but are essentially composed of singer/keyboardist Victoria Legrand and multi-instrumentalist Alex Scally, along with touring drummer Dan Franz — formed in 2004. They emerged with their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2006, which won them some high-profile indie fans, including Grizzly Bear, who would go on to take Beach House on tour.

2008’s Devotion raised the stakes with a more sophisticated songwriting acumen, but often felt like the sequel of sorts to Beach House’s debut — it wasn’t a grand leap forward, just a band tugging lightly at the confines of their sound, to often dazzling effect, including on tracks like the classic “Gila” and their delicate nursery-rhyme take on Jad Fair and Daniel Johnston’s “Some Things Last A Long Time.”

They crashed through indie’s glass ceiling with the spectacular Teen Dream in 2010 — it came in an No. 3 on our list of that year’s best albums. They followed that with 2012’s astounding Bloom, which is more of a mood piece than its predecessor — it’s less singles-oriented and more of an album, demanding to be heard in one sitting, without skipping or pausing.

It can be difficult to pinpoint just why Beach House is so popular. Their gauzy vintage synths, Scally’s intuitive slide guitar playing, and their tastefully unobtrusive drums render them sonically irresistible; those parts that flat-out serve the songs. Still, it’s just remarkable that a band with such inscrutable lyrics and often downcast instrumentation have managed to cultivate such an ardent fan base around the world. So much of their appeal stems from Legrand and Scally’s ability to each deliver formidable elements that serve as bright, blinding stars in their sonic constellation, crucial pieces of their luminous milieu. Give yourself to it fully and you’ll likely become enraptured. They’re that good: one of the finest bands of the past decade.

Legrand perhaps best elucidated the band’s appeal in an interview I conducted with her last year. She said of Beach House, “ We’ve all listened to music our entire lives. We need music. I really think it’s one of the most versatile, powerful art forms, because it’s how people figure out why they’re existing, and helps people to believe in something.” Succinct yet undeniably true, much like the band’s stunning music.

Culling 10 best songs from such a remarkably small yet nearly peerless discography is no easy feat, but here we are. Share your own favorites (of which there are sure to be many) in the comments.

10. “Take Care” (from Teen Dream, 2010)

The sublime “Take Care” Is an adolescent ode to unrequited love, capturing the period when lost love feels like one of Dante’s circles of hell. When Legrand, in a fever dream-esque vision alludes to “Swimming in the lake/ We’ll come across a snake/ It is a real and then it’s fake,” it suggests a certain perfidy. The relationship as they know it is irrevocably altered, and probably doomed, but Legrand clings to a wide-eyed quixotic notion of its eventual redemption.

9. “Other People” (from Bloom, 2012)

“Other People” is one of Legrand’s more emotionally direct tunes; on it, she dustily ruminates over elegiac keyboards and a winding guitar motif of how “Other people want to keep in touch/ Something happens and it’s not enough.” She’s hinting at how some romantic relationships lead to lifetime friendships, and others wilt like flowers in the frost. Yet she doesn’t sound in the least bit resigned, and manages to transmogrify grief into a grand catharsis.

8. “Norway” (from Teen Dream, 2010)

One of the more ornate Beach House songs, “Norway” was the track that transcended the minimalist work on the band’s first two albums. Thematically, it’s rather brutal, with Legrand urging “He’s a hunter for a lonely heart.” When she sings, “With your tiny heart/ You let us in the wooden house,” she hints that what’s been discovered is fools gold. And, listening to the tune’s insistent refrain of “Norway,” it sounds eerily like “No way” in her consonant dropping proclivities, perhaps subconsciously hinting at what she’s attempting to escape.

7. “Zebra” (from Teen Dream, 2010)

Perhaps Beach House’s most beloved song, “Zebra” opens Teen Dream; its lyric “Black and white horse/ arching among us” hints at the dichotomy so prevalent in many Beach House songs. And when Legrand disarmingly contemplates, “Don’t I know you better than the rest?” it’s suffused with utter ambivalence, a certain resignation regarding the object of her affection — whom she imbues with a non-judgmental character sketch worthy of the Velvet Underground’s “Stephanie Says.” She obviously sees the inherent contradictions in the protagonist, but nonetheless responds with abject compassion at their flaws.

6. “Apple Orchard” (from Beach House, 2006)

“Apple Orchard” has a majestic grace redolent of some of Galaxie 500’s finest moments. It finds Legrand droning sweetly, “You know how it is my friend/ In the boxes of those old picture frames.” It’s like a sepia-toned photograph, but it never succumbs to cheap nostalgia. It’s pure equanimity, and is emblematic of much of the band’s early work.

5. “Gila” (from Devotion, 2008)

The metronomic “Gila” is positively minimalist in comparison to the band’s later fleshed-out compositions. Eschewing the synths that would color much of their later work, it’s a cabaret torch song that moves at a snail’s pace. But it’s Legrand’s extended enunciation of “Gila” that devastates. And when she suggests, “It’s why you keep your little lovers in your lap/ Give a little more than you like,” it hints at perniciousness on the part of the protagonist. But the ultimate kiss-off occurs when she cautions, “Don’t you waste your time,” like she’s conducting an emotional exorcism.

4. “10 Mile Stereo” (from Teen Dream, 2010)

When Kirsten Dunst was asked what song made her cry in a Spin interview, she answered, “10 Mile Stereo.” It was a song, she noted, that she listened to over and over again during the filming of Melancholia to prepare her for working on the soul-crushing movie. It’s a magnificent song instrumentally — the synths gurgle hypnotically, suggesting a certain queasy treacherousness — but it’s easy to see why Dunst would use the song to isolate herself prior to performing in such a powerful film, and LeGrand’s final line of “Love’s like a pantheon/ It carries on forever” captures the ineluctably affecting end of the world evoked in the picture.

3. “Lazuli” (from Bloom, 2012)

Legrand has stated that “lazuli” was a word she long wanted to integrate into a song, not for a literal translation or anything along those lines. The song itself is a Cocteau Twins-esque dream-pop number, replete with guardian angel backing vocals. But the word somehow assumes the heart of the song brilliantly. It’s a bitterly blue, lachrymose, and downcast tune that fits the brilliant gestalt of Bloom like a glove.

2. “Master of None” (from Beach House, 2008)

For anyone who’s seen the terrific Miranda July film The Future, this track will always be inextricably tied to the director/actress wrapping herself in a shirt like a faux cocoon in an utterly unforgettable scene. July is trying desperately to connect via technology through a YouTube video soundtracked by the tune, which is somewhat counterintuitive to the thrust of the song. The track itself is one of the band’s finest, with Legrand crooning that you “cry all the time/ because you’re not having fun.” Her magnificent lyrics often get lost in the rather beguiling amalgamation of slide guitars and vintage synthesizers, but dig deeper and they’re enigmatic yet engaging, capturing what it’s like to be utterly lost in a world of technological confusion and disengagement in the 21st century.

1. “Silver Soul” (from Teen Dream, 2010)

Beach House have long been considered something of the ideal house band for a David Lynch film, but what they’ve most conjured over the years is the Twin Peaks scenes when the giant would break through in a hallucinatory vision to warn Dale Cooper of impending doom. The refrain on “Silver Soul” echoes his warning that “It is happening again.” What is happening? It’s hard to say, but a perusal of the lyrics indicates that “Silver Soul” is a devastating, “vision, complete illusion,” in the words of Legrand, bordering on licentious and carnal. The light was blinding in those sordid Twin Peaks scenes at the Roadhouse, and for anyone who’s seen Beach House live, it’s hard to not imagine the Blade Runner-esque light of their archaic yet brilliant stage setup shining through, like a beacon illustrating a nefarious epiphany.

(Beatles)
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I’m crying.

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.

Mister city policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run.
I’m crying, I’m crying.
I’m crying, I’m crying.

Yellow mother custard, dripping from a dead dog’s eye.
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.

Sitting in an english garden waiting for the sun.
If the sun don’t come, you get a tan
From standing in the english rain.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob goo goo g’joob.

Expert textpert choking smokers,
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty,
See how they snied.
I’m crying.

The Beatles wrote all of their own songs, had one producer,
one engineer, could actually play instruments
and sing ( well).
The Kanye Kool-Aid is an affront to the
treasure trove of great musical legacy from
America and in general. That the
Stereogum boards lit up like dim
lightbulbs praising Kanye’s sub-par
Death Grips tribute make me
puke many shades of
disgust.
That is all.
C.A.
P.S. On a sie note, Devotion is my top Beach House record, it’s chociest cut being ‘Gila’, which I do agree on. Move it two spots closer to the top and I’m a happy camper.

Say what you like about Kanye, but you can’t argue that he a) perfectly synthesizes modern influences and turns them into something all his own (wholly original and fascinating), b) he is a lightning rod for publicity which allows him to integrate underground influences on a major-label stage (much like the Beatles did and Frank Zappa famously lampooned…) and c) he is the consummate showman, he performs his material as if HE KNOWS that one day they will be standards. The Beatles knew they were hot-shit and that everything they did was gold. Lyricism aside (I Am the Walrus is pure gibberish by the way), Kanye West uses his celebrity to inject the mainstream with artistry that it is sorely lacking and while his ideas are not always wholly original, he is like a Steve Jobs, and in that way the man is a genius. Beach House rock.

It doesn’t make for a grand list, but that has a lot to do with a limited catalog so far. Four albums, and just about every song on the most recent two albums wipe the floor with the anything on the first two. Hard for me to argue with the logic.

“just about every song on the most recent two albums wipe the floor with the anything on the first two” – I disagree, the first two albums have less “hits”, but overall I find the lazy “devotion” just as good as their following stuff (and definitely more original than “bloom” which sometimes sounds too “generic beach house” to me)

Yeah, the first two albums took a while to grow on me, and if it wasn’t for Teen Dream I probably wouldn’t have bothered listening to their earlier stuff enough for that to have happened (well, unless I came across “You Came to Me.” That song is just magic, and piqued my curiosity sufficiently on first listen). Now there are definitely times where I prefer Devotion to Teen Dream, though I would say that Teen Dream does a better job of being consistent about its excellence.
That being said, the music from the Teen Dream/Bloom and Beach House/Devotion eras do have a different enough feel to them to where I can see really getting one and not the other.

I totally agree with Karel about Bloom, most of the songs never grab my attention, and it just strikes me as generic Beach House. I find it funny that the writer of the list refers to Bloom as an album that demands to be heard as one piece, in one sitting–to me, I enjoy the songs on that album more if I listen to them separately. If I listen to the album as a whole, after a while I just start thinking that all the songs sound too much alike. : /

Interesting. Yeah, there is a definite dichotomoy between the two eras.

As far as Bloom goes, part of why I love it so much is because I agree that it’s an album that deserves the one-sitting listen. It seems like one connected entity. In that way, I can see how one would think of the songs as bleeding together and sounding too much a like as you said. I guess I just love it for the same reasons you don’t love it

Awesome. I friggin’ love this band! Good list, although I’d love to see “Wild” and “Myth.” (Can’t have them all, I suppose!)

“Silver Soul” was the song that nailed this band to my spirit. A great choice for #1! And a fabulous write up as well. I’m in agreeance that Beach House is one of the best bands of the last decade. It’s still early in the 2010’s, but it would take quite an epic to beat out Bloom for album of this current decade for me. I fell head over heals for that thing. Easily the best album I’ve heard since In Rainbows.

On that note, the video for “Wishes” is one of the greatest videos I’ve ever seen, and I wish I was on those bleechers.

“Silver Soul” finally did it for me too. I was always a big fan of their first album. I NEVER thought they’d bloom into the band they are today. But there is something very, very powerful going on in “Silver Soul”

All of that being said, FOR SHAME for excluding “Wishes” — one of the best off of “Bloom” and now even better with Eric Wareheim’s music video.

Probably could’ve swapped out one of the Teen Dream songs for “Myth” as well.

I can remember at the height of Teen Dream’s power over me, I went on a trip to Florida. I listened to that album non stop out there. We had a nice pool with a sweet view of the city around it, and I went for a solo swim as the sun was just going down. I was floating on my back just looking at the summer atmosphere around me, and suddenly “Silver Soul” blasted through my mind as if there were speakers under water. It was quite a euphoric “listening” experience that I’ve always attached to that album.

Also, my first full listen to Bloom was out on a trampoline on a spring night. Beach House always sounds better as the sun is hitting the horizon and the stars are taking shape. Trust me on this.

The best album since In Rainbows? How many albums have you heard since then? Three? Person Pitch came out around the same time and absolutely dominated it. With that said. Bloom isn’t even in the top 25 best albums of the decade so far right now. Both Ariel Pink albums are much better. That Mediafired album kills it. Oneohtrix Point Never’s Replica is better, Caribou’s Swim is better, The Dreams Love King is better, Destroyers Kaputt is far better, Gang Gang Dance’s Eye Contact, That Grouper record. I could really go on forever.

And also Master Of None is their best album. This band is fine, but not even close to one of the best of the decade. GET A GRIP dude.

I even went out of my way to make sure my wording was on the subjective side. Trying to make sure that it was clear this was just my personal opinion of taste as I geek about one of my favorites.

As my favorite band of all time, In Rainbows is a landmark for me personally. It would easily sit in my top 30 albums ever. And yes, I would consider it (and Bloom) to be much better than every single album you mentioned, including the precious Person Pitch which I love. But I shant say that too loud lest ye smite me with thine almighty internet hand of pretentious eliticism.

And by the way…Master Of None is who’s best album? Beach House’s?
GET A GRIP dude.

I don’t really like when people try to hide their bad taste in the disguise of opinion. Its like if some dude was trying to tell you that in his “opinion” bird shit taste way better than Peter Lugers. Thats fine I guess, but it what really tells me is that he has terrible taste. And thats what your comments tell me about your musical taste. And I guess that’s why I commented, because I don’t really like when people with bad taste “geek out” over music. Just as I imagine you wouldn’t really want to be sitting at a table with a bunch of people “geeking out” about how great the last Katy Perry record was. And that’s how I feel when I read your comments, like I’m in a bar being lectured by a bunch of guys about how great the John Mayer deep tracks are on Your Body Is A Wonderland.

Damn, aren’t you just a hip ray of sunshine? I wasn’t aware it was so inappropriate to love a band like Beach House as much as I do. I feel sort of ashamed now and wish you’d forgive me, wise one.

Actually, I don’t give a shit what you think about my tastes, and for that matter I don’t give a shit if I have “good” or “bad” taste at all really, especially in regards to your subjective opinion. I like what I like and I don’t apologize for it. I don’t see how one can possibly enjoy music with an attitude as restrictive as your’s. Seems more like a chore the way you talk. Get over yourself, jackass.

and holy shit, look at your comment history. all you do is talk shit on people’s “taste.” here’s some opinions from page 1 alone: kidchair has bad taste, michael_ has bad taste, tom from stereogum has bad taste, stereogum the website has bad taste, 90% of people with bad taste are bad people in general. good god, man – i did a ctrl-F with the word “taste” and it appeared 22 TIMES. you are the the true stereotype of a hipster douce…. congratulations?

Top three ought to be Lazuli, Zebra, and Gila if you ask me. Master of None is a good song but on the last two albums the band has really made strides in their production and songwriting abilities, and a song like that doesn’t belong this high on this list while there are other songs from the last two albums that are better, in my opinion.

Wait a second, these guys haven’t even been around for a full decade. We already have to start giving them career retrospectives?

This just further serves my hunch that indie rock is officially no longer an actual genre and that stereogum mainly serves as a reminder of the glory days (2003-2008?). There’s nothing new to talk about, and now it’s just an endless rehash of everyone’s old favorites. This site is basically just helping build a cannon that can one day be turned into a classic rock playlist for whatever type of radio we’re listening to in 2018.

Point taken. But your response would imply T Rex was the last important band for which a retrospective was needed. I don’t have an issue with Beach House, but when half of the “Best of” list is from a single album either the band doesn’t have enough material to pull from, or the band isn’t all that great. My vote would be the former.

I think they’re on the border of “too soon.” It would’ve made a more interesting list with more of a catalog to choose from, but 4 albums in is barely passed “listable” to me. They’ve done Grizzly Bear last year, and that was just after Shields dropped. Some bands are worth talking about anyway.

Teen Dream Dream has so many great ones, I would have included Lover of Mine and non-TD songs You Came to Me (my #1) and Equal Mind. A couple years ago my two year old son heard me play BH and made me play him Zebra 100 times at least.

“You Came to Me” is definitely my all time favorite Beach House song. I wasn’t really expecting it to be on this list, since it does seem like this song does get overlooked, but it would’ve been a nice surprise.
The time in my life where I got into Beach House was a very emotional and weird time for me, so the first three albums are laden with a lot of memories… but I will say, Beach House and Devotion were such great songs to listen to on headphones at work on Monday mornings, when you’re not entirely awake yet and just want to bury your head in some wistful haze…

I really love the single version of “Used To Be” (the Teen Dream version is a rewrite that for some reason dropped a great bridge part). If you haven’t fallen deeply, deeply in love with Victoria Legrand yet, check out this vid of her singing “Used To Be” on a beach somewhere (oh how I wish I could be on that beach too).

“Walk In The Park” and “Wedding Bell” are some other faves, and I’ve played “The Hours” more than any other song on Bloom. Why aren’t people freaking out about the absence of “Myth” though? (three, two, one…)

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